Trimming machine



Feb. 18, A1930. A. cocozELLA 17475577 TRIMMING CHINE Filed Nov. 21'. 1925 2. sheets-sheet 1 Feb. 18, 11930. A. cocozELLA 1,747,577

TRIMMING MACHINE Filed Nov. .21, 1925 `2 sheets-sheet :2l

Patented Feb. 18, 1936' UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE ANTHONY COCOZELLA, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T UNITED SHOE MA- CHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JEBSEY, A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY TRIMIVIING MACHINE Application iled November 21, 1925. Serial No. 70,627.

4 manner above referred to has the marginal contour ofthe heel portion of the sole from which it was split and consequently it must ultimately be trimmed to conform to the contour of the heel breast. In accordance with the usual practice the entire surface of the heel breast is covered by the breast flap, the

' flap being trimmed readily by hand so that the opposite lateral edges of the flap are flush with the lateral edges of the heel breast. There are, however, certain disadvantages in having the edges of the breast Hap flush with the ledges of the heell and in order to avoid these disadvantages and to provide for an attractive and finished appearance of the heel I devised the improvements relating to heels and to breast coverings therefor' which improvements are disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 71,989, filed November 28, 1925. As fully explained in that application the breast face of a wooden Louis heel is gouged or recessed so as to provide narrow ribs or ridges extending along the opposite lateral margins of the heel breast and a breast- Hap is trimmed to it snugly Within the recess between the marginal ribs so that the trimmed edges of the flap will be hidden from view and protected by the ribs and a pleasing paneled effect obtained. In covering the breast of a heel of the improved type referred to the trimming of the breast flap must be carefully done so that its trimmed edges will closely abut the ribs of the heel, or otherwise the desired neat and nished appearance will not be obtained. It is very difiioult, however, to trim a breast leaf by hand so that it will accurately iit within a heel breast recess such as above described and such a hand trimming operation would necessarily be slow and it would require so high a degree of skill on the part of the operator as to make it commercially impracticable. Furthermore, even if it were otherwise practicable to trim a breast flap by hand for this class of work to the exact shape required, such a pre-formed breast flap would shrink after being moistened by the attaching cement with the result that when the flap was finally laid it would not lit within the recess as accurately as is desirable.

In View of the foregoing, one object of the present invention is to provide an eiicient and reliable machine for trimming breast lcoverings for heels of the type having ribbed or recessed heel breasts such as above described. l

With this object in View, in the machine herein illustrated, provision is made for utilizing the inner edges or sides of the ribs at the margins of the heel breast as templets in determining the location of the trimming cuts in the breast flap.

As herein illustrated, the machine is provided with a trimming tool, and a work guide member having a tapered or wedge-shaped extremity for insertion between the breast surface of an attached heel and the margin of a breast covering flap which has been at least partially secured in place upon the heel breast, this guide member having an offsetshoulder back of its tapered extremity which is adapted to ride along the inner sides of the ribs to position the heel (and colisequently the breast flap which is attached to the heel breast) relatively to the trimming tool so that the breast flap may be trimmed in exact alinement with the sides of the ribs against which the trimmed edges of the flap are to abut, or in such other predetermined relation to the ribs of the heel as may be` desired. To adapt the work guide member for co-operation with the trimming tool in the trimming operation, this member is also provided, at the side opposite the oii'set shoulder, with a small groove or recess adapted to receive the cutting edge of the trimming tool and with surfaces at opposite sides of the groove for supporting the breast lap to receive the thrust of the trimming tool.

The invention, however, is not necessarily limited to a construction adapted only for use in connection with heels having recessed heel breasts of the type above referred to,

4 nor for use only in trimming breast coverings and constructed and arranged to provide arest for the work and for the material to be trimmed, and to guide the work to determine definitely the location ofl the trimmin cut. Y y

In a still further aspect, invention resides in the provision, in a machine for trimming heel breast covering i'laps secured to heels having recessed breasts, of a trimming tool,

" and work guiding means constructed and arcrowned heel breast than to cover a heel.

breast which is iat in cross-section 'assummg equal amounts of shrmkage. Further, since the crowning 1s usually more pronounced in the wider portions of the breast,

the breast flap should be correspondingly wider in such portions and consequently, a

to allow for shrinkage.

greater amount of excess width of the breast flap should be provided for.

To adapt the illustrated machine for trim` ming breast covering aps for heelsA having convex or crowned breast surfaces, another feature of the invention consists in the provision of means for varying the relative location of the breast covering flap and the trimming tool so as to increas'ethe widthof the sole flap to compensate for the convexity or crowning of the breast surface and also In the illustrated construction this result is obtained by the use of a cone-shaped Work rest arranged to tilt or cant the heel relatively to thetrimming tool in such a. way that the trimming cut will be made closer to the edge of the flap than if the heel were not tilted. The arrangement of the conical work rest is such that the larger the heel the more the heel' willbe tilted and consequently the greater will be the amount of compensation made for the crowning of the heel breast. This arrangement also causes a heel to be tilted more at the wider portions of the breast than at the narrower portions, so that a proportionally greater amount of compensation will be made for the crowning of the breast surface The invention further consists in features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts herinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying draw-ings Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a trimming machine embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the machine; Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation of a heel with a recessed 'heel breast within which a sole flap has been fitted, the sole of a shoe to which the heel is attached being shown in section and the shape of the sole lia-p before it is trimmed to fit within the recess being indicated by dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the righthand side of the machine;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the trimming tool and the work guiding means, also showing in cross section the lower portion of a heel with a breast covering flap partially attached thereto and being operated upon by the trimming tool;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing in cross section another and wider part of the heel.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the heel portion of a ladys shoe showing a breast covering Hap which has been trimmed and finally secured in place within the recess in the breast of a heel;

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of a portion of a shoe with the bottom lift removed from the heel, illustrating the appearance of a heel with a recessed breast after the covering for the sides ofthe heel and the breast covering 'lap have been applied; and

Fig. 9 is a detailed View partially in plan, and partially in section, showing the heel of a shoe positioned to start the trimming of the breast flap.

As shown in the drawings,`the operative parts of the illustrated heel breast flap trimming machine are supported by a frame 10 which is adapted to rest upon a bench or table. The frame 10 is provided with spaced bearings 11 and 12 (Fig. 1) for a vertical shaft 13 having a pulley 14 fast thereon and adapted t0`be driven by a belt 15 from any suitable source of power. At its upper end the shaft 13 has two pulleys 16 and 17 fast thereon, the pulley 16 having a straight belt connection 18 with a pulley 19 fast on a shaft 20 (see Fig. 4) which has another pulley 21 also fast thereon, the shaft 20 serving as a pivot for a trimming tool carrying bracket 22. A trimming tool shaft 23 is mounted in vertical bearings at the free end of the bracket 22 and the shaft 23 is driven from the pulley 21 by a belt 24 which passes around a pulley 25 fast on the upper end of the shaft 23. Secured to the lower end of the shaft to operate on the left margin of a breast flap,

and a similar device which is located upon the left-hand side of the machine and is adapted to operate upon the right margin of the breast flap. Each of these two devices comprises a trimming tool and a work guide which are like corresponding members of the other device except that the trimming tool at the lefthand side of the machine is arranged to be driven in a clockwise direction, and the relative arrangement of this trimming tool andI the associated work guide is the opposite of that of the trimming tool and work guide at the right-hand side of the. machine. Because of the similarity of the operating parts at opposite sides of the machine those at the lefthand side, with the exception of the driving pulleys, have been designated by reference characters similar to those on the right-hand side. In order to drive the trimming tool 26 on the left-hand side of the machine in the desired direction a pulley 1.9a on the shaft 20 is arranged to be driven by a crossed belt 27 which passes around the pulley 17. A pulley 21- on the last-mentioned shaft 2O is connected by a belt 24a with a pulley 25a on the shaft 23 of the left-hand trimming tool 26.

Inasmuch as the two trimming and guiding devices are alike, except in so far as above pointed out, only one of these devices will be described in detail herein. Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 4, it will be seen that an arm 28 extends forwardly from the frame 10 and has adjustably mounted at its free end a depending member 29 which functions both as a guide and as a support for the work. As shown, lthe member 29 is made of a tapering or wedge-like form at its lower extremity to facilitate its insertion between the margin of a breast iiap and the breast face of a heel to which the flap has been at least partially secured. Behind the wedge-shaped extremity of the member 29 is an offset shoulder 47 which is adapted to engage and ride along the inner sides of the ribs or lateral walls of the recess in the heel breast, one of these sides or walls being indicated at 42 in Figs. 3, 5 and 6. At the opposite side of the work guide member 29 from the shoulder 47 is a small recess or groove 38 (Fig. 1) into which the edge of the trimming tool is adapted to enter a sufficient distance to insure that the tool will cut entirely through the material of the flap but will not contact with the material of the lguide member at the bottom of the groove. The adjustable mounting of the guide member 29 hereinbefore referred to permits this member to be accurately adjusted relatively to the trimming tool to insure the desired cooperative relation between tlie groove 38 and the cutting edge of the tool. When the guide.

member 29 is thus adjusted the work guiding shoulder 47 will be located in alinement with the blade of the trimming tool, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Thus, the guide member is enabled to position the work with the lateral wall 42 which it engages in alinement with the trimming tool, and since the breast leaf is attached to the heel so that its widthwise relation to the heel cannot be changed, the work guide member 29 will function also to locate the breast flap relatively to the trimming tool so that the trimming cut will be made exactly in alinement with the adjacent Wall of the recess in the heel breast. As will be hereinafter explained, however, it is possible, by tilting the work relatively to the work guide member, to so position the work that the trimming cut will be more or less offset from a position of exact alinement with the guiding shoulder so that the width of the trimmed flap may be increased to compensate for crosswise bulging or crowning of the heel breast and to allow for shrinkage.

Viewing Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the trimming tool at the right of those figures is in close proximity to the guide member 29, this being its position during thetrimming operation, while the cutting tool at the left of these figures is shown as. removed from the guide member, which position it assumes when trimming is not in progress. To enable each guide member 29 to be moved at will into and out of position to operate upon the work the following construction is provided. Mounted on the arm 28 is an upstanding lug 30 bored to receive loosely a bent stud 31 secured to the bracket 22, between which and 'the lug 30 is a spring 32 which surrounds the stud 31 and normally tends to force the bracket 22 away from the guide member 29, this movement being limited by means of stop nuts 33. Secured to the bracket 22 isa wire or cord 34 which passes over a pulley 35 mounted on the arm 28 and extends downwardly to a lever or treadle (not shown). When the work is ypositioned for the trimming operation, as will be explained, the treadle will be operated to swing the bracket 22 on its pivot 20 into the position shown at the right of the Figures 1 and 2, and this movement of the bracket will be limited by a stop j screw 36 threaded through a lug 37 projecting upwardly from the arm 28, so that the cutting tool may be operatively positioned with its cutting edge in the groove 38 in the guide member 29.

Figures 7 and 8 of the drawings show ,a

shoe and a portion thereof, respectively, wherein the covering for the rear and sides of the heel is of thin material and overlaps the lateral margins of the heel breast as at 40, and wherein the breast ofthe heel has formed therein arecess or depression 41`the bottom of which is crowned or convex transversely of the heel. The portions of the cover for the rear and sides of the heel which overlap the heel breast are trimmed flush with the'opposite lateral walls of the recess in the heel breast and the breast covering Hap is to be fitted within the recess in the heel breast so that the lateral edges of the Hap will abut not only the lateral walls of the recess but also the trimmed edges of the overlapping portions 40 of the heel cover.

As herein illustrated the heel breast covering 43 is formed from a flap split from the heel portion of the sole of the shoe and accordingly the contour of the iap corresponds to the contour of the heel part of the sole. Consequently the sides and free end of the Hap must be trimmed to enable the ap to fit within the recess 41 as above described. Before being trimmed, however, the flap is bent backwardly and the heel 44 (the rear and sides of which have already been covered)I is secured to the heel seat portion of the shoe bottom.

After the heel has been thus secured in place the sole Hap will be coated with adhesive and pressed into the recess 41 in the heel breast as completely as can be done at that time, but the untrimmed sides and free end of the flap will protrude beyond the heel as indicated by the dotted line 45 in Figf ure 3.

To facilitate the trimming of the margins of the iap the free end of the flap will first be cut along the line 46--46 (see Fig. 3)

which line indicates the junction of the heelA with the top lift.

The shoe is then ready to be presented to the trimming machine and, for the purpose of explanation, it may be considered that the shoe is manipulated first to present the heel to the devices at the right-hand side of the machine, with-the sole portion of the shoe nearest the machine and the toe pointed toward the left. While the work is being positioned relatively to the guide member 29 the trimming tool- 26 will be held removed from this member by the spring 32 and a clearance ai'orded for adjusting the heelv to the guide member preparatory to the beginning of the trimming operation.

In presenting the shoe to the machine the operator will positionit so that the lower part of the guide member 29 will occupy a position between the heel breast and the flap, and with its shoulder 47 in engagement with the wall 42 of. the depression 41, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6,-the 'tapering lowermost extremity 48 of the guide member assisting in separating the flap from the breast surciently to enable the shoulder 47 to engage the wall of the recess in the heel breast. The guide member is entered at the toplift end of theheel so that the trimming will commence at the point where the Hap was cut on the line 46-46, and then proceed upwardly toward the sole as indicated in Fig. 9 of the drawings.

When the shoe has been positioned as just explained, the treadle will be depressed and, through the cord 34, the bracket 22 will be swung against the action of the spring 32 and the trimming tool brought into cutting engagement with the work. At this time the lower lateral edge portion of the heel which n is removed from the trimming tool will bear lightly against a cone-shaped work rest and guide 50, and as the trimming starts at the narrowest portion of the breast, the point of contact of the rest 50 with the heel is so near the apex of the cone that the heel is tilted but slightly by reason of its engagement with the rest 50, but as the shoe is pushed toward the machine to complete the trimming, the breast broadens out and becomes more or less crowned or convex (crosswise of the breast) and the point of contact of the heel with the rest 50 takes place at points increasingly lower on the work rest and consequently the heel is gradually tilted more and more. In this way, as .shown in Fig. 6, the breast is caused to be trimmed wider than it otherwise would, thus compensating for shrinkage and the bulge or transverse convexity of the heel breast which requires an increased width of breast flap to cover it.

If the heel breast were flat in cross section` toward the machine. Many heels, however,

have breasts which 'are crowned or transversely convex from 'top to bottom and for such heels the flap should be trimmed so that it is a trifle wider at every point along its length than the widths represented by straight measurements at every point between the walls 42 of the recess in the heel breast, and so that when the lap.is finall pressed into the recess it will completely fi l the recess with the side edges of the flap in close contact with the lateral walls of the recess.l e The gradual tilting or canting of the heel enables the cutting tool gradually to increase the width of the flap over the straight line width of the' depression to a degree that suiiciently compensates for the crowning 'of the breast, also :for shrinkage, and thus a perfect fit of the flap or breast cover between the side walls 42 is accomplished.

It is intended that in instances wherein the side walls ofthe recess in the heel breast are undercut, and a beveled edge is wanted on the flap the rest or guide member 50 will be removed and another capable of accomplishing this result will be substituted.

It is also the intention to provide work rests such as 50, of different dimensions, to give the heel the Ifecessary cant in the proper direction for any particular type of work which is to be operated upon.

It is not known that trimming devices have ever been used wherein a work guide or support has been interposed betweenthe material to be trimmed and the object being guided, or the object to which the material is to be attached, or, wherein the said guide was so located, and also functioned as a cutting or trimming block for the cutting or trimming tool, or wherein a guide member was interposed between the material to be trimmed and the work, and, wherein the guide member made Contact with the particularly boundary of the work to which the trimmed material was to be fitted.

Since the work guide contacts with the walls of the recess in the heel breast between which the breast cover is to be snugly fitted, and not with the finished and more or less delicate cover of the sides of the heel not only is a perfect fit of the breast cover insured, even though the walls of therecess may not be symmetrical nor located like distances from the edge of the heel, but'the cover for the sides of the heel is not marred and is not otherwise injured by the process.

It will be observed that certain portions of the drawings are somewhat exaggerated as for instance the angle of cant of the s oe shown in Figure 6, in order to facilitate an understanding of the mode of operation of the machine.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction and arrangement of parts shown herein, inasmuchas various changes may be made therein with- Y out departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is l. A machine for trimming heel breast covers comprising a work guide member having a wedge shaped end arranged to be entered between the cover to be trimmed and the breast of a heel, and having means thereon to aid in the support of a heel during the trimming operation, said guide member providing a rest for the said cover during the trimming thereof, and a cutting tool arranged to coact with said 'guide member for the purpose of trimming a heel breast cover.

2. A machine for trimming heel breast covbetween the cover to be trimmed and a heel breast, said guide member providing a rest for said cover during the trimming thereof, and being provided with means to aid in the support of a heel during the trimming operation; a cutting tool; means whereby said tool may be moved away from said guide member; means whereby said tool may be moved towards said guide member; and means to limit the movements of said tool tow'ard and from said rest.

3. A trimming machine comprising work guide means arranged to be interposed between the material to be trimmed and the object to be guided, said means providing a rest for the material during the trimming thereof, and being arranged to aid in the support `of the object to be guided; a cutting tool; and means to cant the object during the trimming operation for the purpose of aiding the said guide means and said tool in the production of a breast cover of the required width.

4. A trimming machine for heel breast covers comprising a work guide means arranged to be entered between a heel breast cover and a heel breast, and to afford a rest for the cover during the trimming operation, and

vprovided with means to aid in the support of a heel and to guide it so as to obtain the proper contour for the trimmed cover; a cutting tool; and means coacting with said guide means and said tool to cant a heel for the purpose of aiding in the production of a breast cover trimmed to the required width.

5. A trimming machine comprising a trimming tool, work guide means arranged to be interposed between a piece of sheet material and an article to which said material is to be fitted, said means providing a rest for said material and being adapted to coact with the trimming tool in the trimming operation, and said tool being normally positioned out of cooperative relation with the work guide means,

and means for moving said tool into co-operative relation with sai'd'guide means.

6. A trimming machine comprising a trimmingknife, a work guide member arranged to be interposed between an article to be covered and a covering therefor to guide the covering relatively to the knife, said member being constructed and arranged to provide a rest for the covering at opposite sides of the knife, and means whereby relative movement between said guide and said knife may be obtained. l

7 A trimming machine comprising a trimming tool, and a member arranged to be interposed between material to be trimmed and an article to which the trimmed material ,is to be fitted, said member having a surface at one side for supporting the material to be trimmed and a groove in said surface to receive the edge of the trimming tool, and having at its opposite side a work engaging shoulder for guiding said article.

8. A machine for trimming breast covers of heels comprising a cutting tool, and a work guide arranged to be interposed between the breast of the heelv and the cover to provide a rest for the cover during the trimming operation, and having means to support the heel and determine the widthwise relation of the heel breast to the cutting tool during said operation. A

9. A machine for trimming breast covers of heels having recessed heel breasts comprising a cutting tool, and a work guide arranged to be interposed between the heel breast and said cover, and having an offset shoulder arranged to engage within the recess of the heel breast to determine the widthwise relation of the heel breast to the cutting tool, said guide providing a back rest for said cover during the trimming operation.

10. A machine for trimming heel breast covers comprising a rotary cutting tool, work guide means arranged to be entered between the breast of -a heel and a breast cover secured thereto and adapted to coact with the tool in the trimming of the cover but normally positioned out of cooperative relation with said tool, said means providing a rest for the cover during the trimming thereof and being arranged to guide the heel to determine its relation to the cutting tool widthwise of the heel breast, and means to move said tool into co-operative relation with said means.

11. A trimming machine comprising a r0- tary cutting tool, and a work guide member to facilitate positioning of the work relatively to the tool., said member being constructed and arranged to be interposed between material to be trimmed and the work to which the trimmed material is to be fitted and being constructed to provide a rest for the work and to support the material to be trimmed at opposite sides of the tool.

12. A trimming machine comprising a trimming tool, and work guide means arranged to be interposed between an article to be guided and material to be trimmed secured to said article, said means providing a rest at opposite sides of said tool for the material te be trimmed and having an offset shoulder for engaging the article to locate said mateiial relatively to the trimming tool.

13. A trimming machine comprising a trimming knife, and a work guide member arranged to be interposed between an article to be guided and material to be trimmed secured to :raid article, said member having a wedge-shaped end to be inserted between said material and said article and a face spaced from said end for guiding said article to determine the location of the trimming cut.

14. A machine for trimming -heel breast lcoverings comprising a trimming tool, and

a member having an extremity adapted to be interposed between the breast of a heel and a covering secured to the heel breast to support the breast covering against the thrust of the trimming tool, said member having a work guiding shoulder behind said extremity for engaging the heel.

15..A machine for trimming heel breast coverlngs comprising a movable cutting tool, and a guide member having an extremity adapted to be interposed between the breast of a heel and a covering secured to the heel breast, said member being recessed to receive the edge of the cutting tool and having covering supporting faces at opposite sides of said recess.

16..A machine for trimming heel breast coverings comprising a rotary cutting tool, and a work guiding member having a tapered extremity adapted to be interposed between the breast of a heel and a covering secured to the heel breast and inserted into a recess in the heel breast, said member hav- `ing a guiding shoulder behind said extremity located lin line with the edge of the cutting tool for engaging the lateral walls of the recess in the heel breast to guide the breast covering relatively to the cutting tool.

17. A machine for trimmnig breast coverlng flaps formed integrally with the sole of a shoe comprising a rotary cutting tool, and a worlr guiding member having a hooked extremity adapted to be interposed between the breast of a heel secured to a shoe and a breast covering flap secured to the heel breast and inserted into a recess in the heel breast to engage a wall of the recess to locate the breast Hap relatively to the trimming tool.

18..A machine for trimming heel breast covermgs comprising a member constructed and arranged to extend between the breast of a heel and a covering secured to the heel breast to guide the heel and supportl the coverlng, a trimming tool movable toward and from position to co-operate with said member to trim the heel covering, means for movlng said trimming tool toward said member, and a spring for moving said tool away from said member.

crowned breast faces comprising a trimming tool, means for guiding'a heel as it is fed ast p the tool to locate the margin of the eel breast opposite the trimming tool, and means for tilting the heel relatively to said guiding means to enable the covering to be trimmed to a width to `compensate for the crowning of the heel breast.

20. A machine for trimming heel breast coverings secured to the heels having crowned breast faces comprising a trimming tool, means for guiding` a heel as it is fed past the tool to locate the margin -of the heel breast opposite the trimmin tool, and means for tilting the heel relatively to said guiding means to enable the covering to be trimmed to a Width to compensate for the crowning of the heel breast, said means being constructed and arranged to vary the angle of tilting adjustment of the heel as the heel is being fed to vary the amount of compensation in accordance with variation in the width of the heel breast.

21. A' machine for trimming heel breast covering flaps secured to heels having recessed breasts comprising a trimming tool, and work guide means constructed and arranged to engage the lateral Walls of the recess in the heel breast relatively to locate said Walls and the tool for trimming the iap to it Within the recess.

22. A machine for trimming heel breast covering flaps secured to heels having ribs extending along the lateral margins of the z5 heel breast, comprising a trimming tool, and

Work guide means having a shoulder in line with the trimming tool for engaging the inner sides of the ribs to guide the heel to locate the breast Hap relatively to the tool so that the trimming cuts will be made in exact alinement with the inner sides of the ribs.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts this 19th day of November 1925.

- ANTHONY COCOZELLA. 

